Why thousands of alt-right members believe a new civil war will start on Saturday

The alt-right is preparing for another bloody civil war across the US - and if you believe the hype it’s going to start this Saturday.

After spreading like wildfire on Twitter, Facebook and Reddit with the hashtags #Nov4ItBegins and #CivilWar2017, a conspiracy theory has taken hold that anti-fascists will start an overthrow of the US government on 4 November.

In response, people on the far-right are reportedly preparing for battle and are making plans to shelter their kids at home for their own safety.

On Reddit, one right-leading poster warned: “All kids and adults should really stay home at least on November 4 especially if they live in an ANTIFA heavy area. It’s also advisable to stay indoors on the 5th and beyond depending on how long ANTIFA remains in the streets.”

The rumour has also been spread by conspiracy theory videos on YouTube.

“On their website, they are calling for an open civil war that they will start here in the United States in November,” YouTuber Jordan Peltz said in a clip that went viral, according to the Washington Post. “They are fundraising for weapons, training, ammunition, suppliers. They are not hiding this. They are openly fundraising so they can attack.”

Another video warns: “The end game here is martial law, is provoking Republicans, patriots, whatever, you and me, into this huge battle, whether it’s just fighting or whether it’s guns. What they will do is they will throw up their arms and say, ‘I told you so, they’re violent’ … They want us out there, with our weapons so the government will commence with martial law. And then, I believe, serious gun control-slash-confiscation.”

The conspiracy was even picked up by infamous Infowars host Alex Jones, who announced in a video that the antifa was “going to lose on November 4 and every day after that, because they’re a bunch of meth-head pieces of crap”.

Despite this outrageous scare-mongering on the internet, the truth is (of course) that there are no plans for an imminent civil war in the United States.

The most likely cause of all this craziness is a series of protests planned on 4 November by the left-leaning group Refuse Fascism. The organisation admits their ultimate goal is to remove Donald Trump from office but not in a violent way.

They are instead inspired by the South Korean protest movement in 2016 that led to President Park Geun-hye being forced from office in March this year.

Refuse Fascism said in a statement on their Facebook page: “Beginning Saturday, November 4, we will gather in the streets and public squares of cities and towns across this country, declaring that this whole regime is illegitimate and that we will not stop until our single demand is met: This Nightmare Must End: the Trump/Pence Regime Must Go!

“Our protest must grow day after day and night after night—thousands becoming hundreds of thousands, and then millions—determined to act to put a stop to the grave danger that the Trump/Pence Regime poses to the world by demanding that this whole regime be removed from power.

“If thousands don’t come out November 4 to stand in unity for this demand, it shouldn’t be because they don’t know about it. Please help reach millions with the message they can act to stop this nightmare.”

And on top of all this, there have been reports that a Department of Defense drill simulating a ‘very bad day’ scenario on Saturday will cause the national power grid to go out.

Although an exercise is indeed planned, no-one’s power should be affected by the drill.